RCR team members make an engine switch in Kevin Harvick's No. 29 Chevy.

Notebook: RCR tries to find elusive speed

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Two of Chevrolet's leading organizations in the Nextel Cup Series exercised some cooperation in the most recent test session at Daytona International Speedway.

Richard Childress Racing was trying to find a bright spot in a bunch of sub-par laps among the four car numbers -- and eight cars -- it tested over the last two weeks.

Richard Childress

While testing is a nebulous art, at best, team owner Richard Childress and his key operatives were a bit befuddled by their test results. Newcomer Dave Blaney had the best position on the cumulative single car speed chart, in 28th.

The team's other drivers were 44th (Jeff Burton), 47th (Kerry Earnhardt in his No. 33 car) and 49th (Earnhardt in Kevin Harvick's No. 29 Chevrolet).

RCR went so far as to try a Hendrick Motorsports engine on Thursday morning in the No. 29.

"We're working on all different kinds of (engine) combinations," Childress said. "We've always worked well with all the Chevrolet teams. This (swapping) has helped us and hopefully it will help (Hendrick), too."

Danny Lawrence, RCR's assistant engine department manager who actually is the organization's most visible engine tuner at the racetrack, concurred.

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"We've had seven engines in the one car in the last three days," Lawrence said on Thursday morning. "We haven't been as good down here as we've been in the past so we've built a lot of different combinations and we're going through everything to figure out exactly what seems to run the best.

"Then, when we come back down here (for Speedweeks) hopefully we can be prepared."

Hendrick engines actually occupied five of the top-10 positions on the cumulative chart, with engine customers Scott Riggs, Joe Nemechek and Boris Said second, fourth and ninth, respectively; and Hendrick drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson fifth and eighth.

"Those guys, Jeff Andrews and Rick Wetzel and all his group at Hendrick Engines -- we've been friends forever and we asked them to help us out," Lawrence said.

"They loaned us a motor that we put in the car to see where we were. It was actually a brand new motor. Their cars had run really good down here, so they tried to do us a favor.

"We try to work with those guys -- all the Chevrolet guys work really good together -- so we just put that (engine) in the mix as we were running through all of our stuff.

Max Papis closer to stock cars

Defending Grand American Rolex Series Daytona Prototype co-champion Max Papis has become a fixture around NASCAR garage areas, and has even tested cars for owner Ray Evernham, among others.

Last week at Daytona, Papis said he had established a relationship with owner Cal Wells, and Thursday Wells confirmed he'd love to put a program together for the personable Italian.

"I'd love to run him in the two road course races," Wells said of the driver who was named to the 12-man field for the IROC Series on Wednesday.

Wells also said that, despite rumors to the contrary, he was not ready to announce any definite plans for the second Nextel Cup team he has been attempting to launch since last season.

"When the economy is right, the performance hasn't been there," Wells said. "But I think Bobby (Hamilton Jr.) and Harold (Holly, crew chief) will bring that."

Andretti concerned about Daytona

John Andretti, who will make his Daytona debut for ppc Racing, is another driver who has some concern about the new qualifying procedure, which guarantees starting positions in the Daytona 500 to the top 35 owners from 2004.

John Andretti

Andretti tried five races last season with ppc and qualified for four of them in the top 25. The only race they missed was when qualifying was rained out.

"We have some concerns because it's the first five races and anything can happen -- and one is the Daytona 500," Andretti said.

"It's not always easy to just go fast here at Daytona in qualifying because you're wide open and everybody does the same thing driver-wise.

"But we knew the hill we were trying to climb. When it comes to Nextel Cup it's not a hill anymore -- it's the biggest mountain there is -- but we'll get through it."

Andretti, who won the 1997 Pepsi 400 at Daytona, ended up with the 35th-best single car lap.